Page 7 of Scorched Secrets

“I requested off, Rhy, that’s all I can do.” Colin sent her a sly wink. “Although maybe Faye can put in a good word with her dad. My boss won’t deny my request for a weekend off if there’s a directive from the top.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, I can try, but don’t pin your hopes on that. My dad leaves the managing of day-to-day operations to his captains.”

“Hey, it’s worth a shot,” Colin joked.

She finished her meal before anyone else but was too tired to be embarrassed. Colin noticed, though, and rose to his feet. “Come on, I’ll show you the guest room.”

“Okay, thank you.” She carried her dirty dishes to the sink, then turned back to face Rhy and Devon. “Thanks again. I appreciate your hospitality.”

“Anytime,” Devon assured her.

She followed Colin up the gracefully curved staircase to the second floor. He opened the second door on the right and gestured for her to step inside. “Get some sleep. We’ll talk more about our next steps later.”

“Okay, sounds good.” It was only when she’d crawled into bed did she register his comment.

We’ll talk about our next steps? She appreciated his kindness, but this wasn’t his problem, it was hers.

Although honestly, she had no idea what to do about it.

“Okay, Colin, what’s going on?” Rhy pounced the minute he returned to the kitchen to finish his meal.

Swallowing a sigh, he met his brother’s gaze. “Faye has been targeted by an arsonist.”

The shock in Rhy’s gaze, especially when he glanced at his pregnant wife, made Colin wince. “Okay, first of all, no one knows she’s here. Secondly, both attempts took out her personal property, her car and her house. Faye hasn’t been physically harmed by either fire.”

“Her car and her house?” Devon echoed, her hand resting on her slightly rounded abdomen. “That’s awful. I’m glad you brought her here, Colin.”

“Does Chief Kimble know?” Rhy asked.

“He knows about the car, she had to leave a message about her house. He was meeting with the mayor.” Colin took a bite of bacon and met Rhy’s gaze. “I wouldn’t have brought her here if someone had tried to kill her. I wouldn’t put Devon in harm’s way like that. But Faye worked five twelve-hour shifts in a row and was dead on her feet. I figured she’d be fine here for a few hours.”

Rhy nodded, although there was still a shadow of concern in his gaze when he glanced at his wife. “I guess it’s a good thing we have the security system and that I have the day off.”

Colin finished his meal and pushed his plate aside. “Faye has an ex-husband, a guy by the name of Rory Owen. Mitch Callahan will likely be investigating both fires, but I figure it can’t hurt for you to check this Owen guy out too. Apparently, their divorce was final over a year ago, but you might remember the major gas leak that brought several victims to Trinity. Faye was working that night and was interviewed by the local news about it.”

Rhy frowned. “Your theory is that Owen resents her fame and fortune?”

Colin leaned back in his chair, spreading his hands wide. “I don’t know. If not her ex-husband, then who? I’ve already asked about angry patients or families. She doesn’t think that’s likely and won’t breach patient privacy.”

“Mitch will get a subpoena for any formal patient complaints against Faye. No lawsuits, huh?”

“Not that she’s mentioned.” He frowned. “I’m sure she’d know if there were any, right?”

“I assume so.” Rhy sipped his coffee. “But we can find out for sure.”

“Sounds like you’re going to work on your day off.” There was no anger or resentment in Devon’s voice, but Colin still felt bad.

“No need, I can do the grunt work,” he said quickly. “You two should enjoy your day.”

“It’s fine, we can shop for baby furniture another time.” Devon waved a hand. “Family comes first.”

Technically, Faye wasn’t family, but he couldn’t ignore her situation either. He met Rhy’s gaze. “Why don’t we do a little research before you go shopping? That shouldn’t take too long.”

“After you and I do the dishes,” Rhy agreed.

“I can do it,” Devon protested.

“Nope.” Colin jumped to his feet. “We’ve got this.”

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